Whether she’s singing about diamonds in the sky or her umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, Rihanna has certainly made a name of herself. She is one of the most successful R&B/Pop singers on the planet today – having topped the Billboard charts 30 times – second only to Madonna, and has a networth of around $250 million. But in spite of her fame, there is plenty about Rihanna that you might not know about. With that in mind, here are 20 facts about your favorite singer that will make you slightly more knowledgeable.
Rihanna holds the Guinness World Record for most digital singles sold at 58 million and counting.
She was the first female artist to have a single top the UK charts for five consecutive years (2007 – 2011).
Believe it or not, she has never worn makeup a day in her everyday life.
Her rider contains a few quirky requirements. For instance, the air conditioning in her room must be set at 73 degrees, her pet unicorn gets its own separate hotel room, and she demands gobs and gobs of gummy bears.
She never graduated from high school, which just goes to show how worthless a formal education is.
She actually auditioned with two other high school classmates as part of an R&B trio, but according to the American record producer who discovered her, once Rihanna entered the room it was as if the other girls had disappeared.
When she auditioned for Jay Z, he was so impressed that rumor has it he wouldn’t allow her to leave the building until she had signed a contract. Sounds a bit like kidnapping to us. But, hey, the strategy obviously worked.
Jay Z was worried that the quick success of ‘Pon de Replay’ risked Rihanna becoming a one-hit wonder. Well, doesn’t he feel silly now!
She has called Madonna her greatest influence, even going so far as to call herself the Black Madonna.
You can blame Rihanna for Calvin Harris’ popularity. He attributes his success to their 2011 collaboration “We Found Love.”
Rihanna has the ability to bend spoons with her mind. However, it took years of training.
You can find a wax figure of Rihanna at eight different Madame Tussauds locations. One of those figures took 4 months and 20 people to complete.
She’s physically incapable of winking. If you look at footage of her trying, she literally cannot. But she tries her best and that’s what matters most.
Rihanna has banned fans from bringing umbrellas to her concerts.
She had been invited to be the Maid of Honor at Katy Perry’s wedding, but couldn’t attend because she was too busy. But in fairness, who among us wasn’t too busy to attend Katy Perry’s wedding?
In 2016 she became the first woman to win the Footwear News “Shoe of the Year” award. We can only wonder which other accessory-related awards she’ll win. Our money is on toe socks.
Her tour guitarist is Nuno Bettencourt, whom Generation Xers might remember as one of the wussy members from Extreme.
Whenever she gets a bikini wax, she insists on hiring old Russian ladies. Because nobody waxes a bikini like a genuine Babushka, apparently.
Her legs were once insured for $1 million. Makes you wonder… would being bitten by a mosquito have been enough to collect that insurance.
Her real name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty.
